Steven Burgess, a founding member of Rice University’s Houston Newsroom, has spent the past several months reporting on different Houston neighborhoods.
He has covered Midtown’s Latino Film Fest, Northside Village’s Moth Presents artist venue, and, most recently, the Garden Oaks Theater.
The Garden Oaks Theater closed in 1994 and was bought by the Heights Equity Trust and Sage Equity Partners in October 2025 and slated for demolition.
Arthouse Houston, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Houston’s artistic culture, has been attempting to raise money to save the theater. To do this, they must raise $7.1 million by May 26th.
“They’ve been hosting protests. They’re hosting a benefit screening at the Deluxe Theater in Fifth Ward,” Burgess said.
Despite closing before Generation Z began, Burgess said many members of the younger Houston community have stepped up to help the theater.
“A lot of people from Gen Z, our generation, right, are advocating or posting on social media, doing a lot of these things to help save a theater that they never even experienced themselves,” Burgess said.
Burgess calls Garden Oaks Theater an example of a “third space,” a public space separate from the home and workplace designed to foster community.
With the nature of Houston, he said, these third spaces are especially important for our city.
“I feel like because Houston is such a large city, but feels like a small town sometimes,” Burgess said. “I feel like the communities and the niches really are powerful. They’re small but mighty.”
These kinds of third spaces develop community by connecting creators and providing new opportunities, he said.
“Houston being one of the largest U.S. cities allows us that whatever doors you knock on are most likely to be opened,” Burgess said. “These doors always present opportunities and people that are really open for collaboration, for creating something bigger than themselves.”
In September 2025, Texas Senate Bill 22 went into effect, setting aside $1.5 billion of incentives for film creation.
Burgess said this is a boost for third spaces and will help develop the creative infrastructure of Houston.
“I think it’s important for spaces like the Garden Oaks to help build out infrastructure in a city that’s never really had it in many creative industries,” he said, “whether that be music, film, the arts in general.”
Through reporting on Houston neighborhoods over the course of the semester, Burgess said he learned many nuances among the different neighborhoods and the structure of Houston as a whole.
“The pride that people have behind their neighborhoods is so apparent,” he said. “There’s such a rich culture between each neighborhood that really, Houston is a city made up of these little, many cities.”
Burgess said he has developed a greater appreciation for Houston and, despite the different cultures between neighborhoods, the Houston pride that is shared across the city.
“That’s what I love is the fact that everything feels so distinct, that the people really care for their community,” he said. “They really represent, and they carry pride that I feel I’ve not quite experienced anywhere else.”